Rohr who spoke at a post-match conference in Uyo after his team came from behind to defeat the Squirrels of Benin Republic 2-1 said winning AFCON 2021 was a huge desire.

“It will be exciting for me to win the 2021 AFCON title with Nigeria. That’s my desire, and I will be the most excited.

“So, winning today (Wednesday) is just the beginning. I can’t be excited until we win the title in 2021,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigeria versus Benin game was a 2021 AFCON Qualifier and it took place at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

Rohr, who said Benin Republic have a good team, also noted that the Nigerian side had a good game in the second half.

“The Super Eagles had a lot of scoring opportunities, but they failed to convert all of them.”

He however pointed out that the game’s opening goal, scored by the Squirrels’ captain, Stephane Sessegnon, in the match’s second minute, was a big shock.

“In the second half, we played a very good match, ‘one-touch two-touch’, and we have good wingers. We had a lot of opportunities, and with the changes we made, we did very well. It is good for us.”

Rohr also said he could not use home-based players for now in the Nigerian team due to specific reasons

“At the moment, the quality we have from abroad is higher than what we have in the home league (Nigeria Professional Football League).”

Speaking also, the Super Eagles’ team captain, Ahmed Musa, said the match was “a tough game for our team, even though we won.’’

He added that the Nigerian side gave their best to prevail over the visitors.

On his part, the Head Coach of Benin, Michelle Dussuyer, noted that his team played very well in the first half.

He however pointed out that the 45th minute penalty kick his team conceded gave more confidence to the Super Eagles.

Also, Sessegnon acknowledged that while the game was not a bad one for his team, the Nigerian side played better.

Our correspondent reports that in the game the Squirrels drew the first blood, while the Super Eagles, through Victor Osimhen, equalised from the penalty kick spot in the 45th minute.

Although Nigeria had several scoring chances thwarted by the Benin goalkeeper in the second half, the winning goal came in the 62nd minute through a solo effort by Samuel Kalu.

Alex Iwobi, Joe Aribo, Samuel Chukwueze and Ola Aina also shone for Nigeria in the match where the Super Eagles confined the Squirrels to their own half throughout the second half.

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Rohr spoke at a pre-match press conference in Singapore, ahead of Sunday’s clash with five–times world champions Brazil at the Singapore National Stadium in Kallang.

He explained that the high-profile friendly was an opportunity to test his team’s capacity and make adjustments where necessary before playing against Benin Republic and Lesotho.

“The game against Brazil will show how much we are progressing after finishing third at the AFCON in Egypt.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for us to learn a few more things that will make us better and stronger for future challenges.

“This is an important test game for us, and we are here to learn from the best. We hope for a very good game against Brazil on Sunday.

“This will help us prepare ourselves for the 2021 AFCON qualifiers against Benin Republic and Lesotho next month,” Rohr said.

He also noted that the friendly would afford him the opportunity of testing new players in order to fill the void created by the retirement of some old top players in the team.

“After the 2019 AFCON, two of our top players (Mikel Obi and Odion Ighalo) retired and we have to see how to replace them.

“We saw a little bit in our friendly against Ukraine last month and hope we can improve on that performance tomorrow (Sunday).

“A good showing against Brazil will help our confidence a great deal,” the team handler said.

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It was reported that Rohr had led the team to a third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.

The Eagles had won the bronze medals on Wednesday after beating Tunisia by a lone goal scored by Odion Ighalo in the third minute of the game.

The football enthusiasts told our reporter the team would have made it to the final if the coaching crew had made better selection and had better tactical approach.

Emeka Okeke, a sports presenter, said Rohr lacked the technical know-how and made bad selection of players.

Okeke said that most of the players he took to Egypt were less than average and were not doing well in their various clubs.

He said Rohr experimented with the players from the day he took charge of the team, adding that he should be shown the way out.

“We cannot be playing games at competitions with our hearts in our mouths, no confidence in both the players, the technical crew and the bench,” Okeke said.

Ikem Asika, a sports analyst, said Rohr showed he was not in firm control of his team and expressed worries that the domestic league has not attracted him since he was employee.

Asika alleged that most players fielded by Rohr were foisted on him by “jobbers in the Glass House”, adding that no coach would do well under such condition.

“Any coach that knows his onions must insist on his players and game plan and not be pushed around on who should play or not,” he said.

Asia added that it was not proper for Daniel Akpeyi to play ahead of Francis Uzoho or Okechukwu Ezenwa if not by “special selection”.

Jude Atupulazi, a journalist, said while the team might not have met the expectations of their teeming fans, the players still deserve some accolade.

Atupulazi said Rohr should be given more time as there were chances he would do better with the team in the future.

“The team tried, coming third out of 24 nations. It isn’t easy. So, we may have to manage Rohr in order to sustain the progress being made.

“Look at the average age of our players. They are very young, and it means the future is bright. So, instead of starting afresh with a new gaffer let Rhor continue,” he said.

Victor Nwangwu, a veteran football administrator, said Rohr has met and surpassed the target set for him by his employers in line with the contract.

Nwangwu said the performance of the Super Eagles in Egypt was not bad as teams that had better chances to win the cup exited much earlier in the competition

“He qualified Nigeria for the World Cup, qualified Nigeria for AFCON, got a third position in the competition proper, a step more than his contractual target, and this is with the youngest Super Eagles team ever assembled by a coach.

“Ghana, Cameroon and Egypt hold superior AFCON records than Nigeria, yet they got eliminated much earlier than we were.

“What else can we say of Rohr, other than he did not win the cup? He deserves to be appreciated and of course respected,” he said.

Anthony Udennaka, a retired football referee, warned against incessant sacking and hiring of coaches to ensure sustainable progress.

Udennaka said the Super Eagles under Rohr did well but lost due to ill-luck, noting that football was an open game which any side playing could win.

“I am of the opinion that the man should be allowed to continue with his good job. Hiring and firing of coaches has never done us any good.

“Many world class coaches lose matches. So, Nigeria’s case should not be an exception,” he said.

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He said the time taken to confirm his opponents’ goal had unsettled his team.

The VAR system was introduced at the quarter-final stage and is being used in the competition for the first time.

It made its first significant intervention when it overruled a linesman’s decision to disallow Bongani Zungu’s goal for offside.

“For five minutes we had to wait, goal or no goal, and that was hard for my team,” the German told reporters in Cairo.

“The second goal did not go in for us and then you have seen this free kick, and this VAR decision ——- you never know what can happen with VAR on a free kick.”

Rohr also praised the character of his side who came back from 2-1 down to beat Cameroon 3-2 in the previous round and grabbed a late winner in Wednesday’s match.

“Now we are mentally strong and we were able to come back,” he said. “The attitude of my players was wonderful. Such a good relationship with everyone.”

Rohr recalled when Nigeria were beaten 2-0 by South Africa at home in a qualifier for the tournament two years ago, one of his first games in charge.

“We had a young team but this team continued to work and this result perhaps helped us to beat in the next game Cameroon, who were African champions, 4-0 in the same stadium (in a World Cup qualifier).

“So, we will also learn from this match,” he added.

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Rohr said at a pre-match press conference on Monday that “Nigeria will play total football with intense attack against Argentina’’ in the match at St. Petersburg.

“We are going to play a wonderful mass attack. We are going to play good game on Tuesday. We are going to defend the colours of Nigeria.

“We will focus on our game, as we are not concerned about Lionel Messi’s skills, even though he is a good player.

“In football, there is no mercy. So, we will not show any mercy for the Argentina team,” he said.

Speaking on if Ahmed Musa, the two-goal hero against Iceland, will be fielded against Argentina, the Super eagles coach said the player is good and deserves to play.

“He had a wonderful outing against Iceland. I hope he will do it again. Last year when he was not playing at club level, we had difficulties with his performance.

“I came to Russia to monitor and watch him in Moscow, but now he is hot. He is going to play against Argentina,” he said.

Rohr, who promised to retain the 3-5-2 formation which silenced Iceland, assured of team captain Mikel Obi’s fitness for the match in spite of the hand injury he sustained.

“Mikel’s injury is not too serious, and I promise you that he will be on duty on Tuesday as the team’s captain.’’

He also allayed fears about poor officiating, saying “we are not afraid of any referee. All we need to do is play good football to get results.”

On the likelihood of Victor Moses making the starting list in spite of his performance in the Iceland game, the coach said: “He is fit, strong and ready to explode against the Argentines come Tuesday’s match.’’

He promised to work on the team to take advantage of set-pieces and score from free-kicks, a failure which has been the bane of most African teams at the competition.

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The squad, since being pruned to 30 last month and subsequently to 26 last week, has been the usually expected names with only a few surprises.

Mikel Agu, Moses Simon and Ola Aina who were dropped in London, with the exclusion of Simon, might not have been a surprise since they have dropped to being fringe players.

The exclusion of Simon on his part, in view of past performances, should have been a surprise, if not for his injury worries.

But the inclusion of Simeon Nwankwo who made his debut just last week is a surprise one, given that he has got the nod to be in Russia ahead of many older members of the national set-up.

However, from the trio of goalkeepers to the pack eight defenders led by the duo of William Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun, the squad is largely much expected.

Aside from new-boy Bryan Idowu and Chidozie Awaziem, all others have always been part of the national team.

And, from the six midfielders which included team captain Mikel Obi to the forwards led by team veteran Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses, no major shock has been witnessed.

It is now left for the technical crew to use Tuesday’s friendly with the Czech Republic in Austria, and the days before June 16, to fine-tune the team.

The Super Eagles who have not made it beyond the last 16 in five appearances at the World Cup will open their Russia 2018 campaign against Croatia on June 16.

The tournament starts on 14 June, with Nigeria drawn with Argentina, Iceland and Croatia in Group D.

The Full Squad:

Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain), Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Enyimba, Nigeria), Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United, South Africa)

Defenders: William Troost-Ekong and Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor, Turkey), Tyronne Ebuehi (Ado Den Haag, Holland), Elderson Echiejile (Cercle Brugge KSV, Belgium), Bryan Idowu (Amkar Perm, Russia), Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes FC, France), Leon Balogun (Brighton, England), Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa, Turkey)

Midfielders: Mikel Obi (Tianjin Teda, China), Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England), Oghenekaro Etebo (Las Palmas, Spain), John Ogu (Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Israel), Joel Obi (Torino, Italy)

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City), Victor Moses (Chelsea, England), Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai, China), Alex Iwobi (Arsenal, England), Simeon Nwankwo (Crotone, Italy).

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Rohr spoke with our correspondent after the NPFL Match Day 12 fixture between Lagos-based MFM FC and Heartland FC of Owerri at Agege Stadium.

The coach said while he was impressed with the standard of the league he believed it would be improved more if games were played on grass as against synthetic pitches.

“I am here to see MFM FC play once again after the CAF Champions League fixture which they won. I am also here to see the other team, Heartland FC.

“What I also noticed is that the league is being played on synthetic pitches. That is old-fashioned because the sun is not favourable playing on such turf.

“Synthetic pitches are hot during the sun and it is not the best for the players,’’ he said.

Rohr said he would like to see other players outside the ones he had shortlisted for the upcoming Super Eagles’ matches, so as to see their level of commitment and play.

“I am not here to see those players on my list, but discover more players and to see the level of the league, which is better for me.

“I want to see those that are doing better and to discover other teams. This is where I can watch the team play because there are no NPFL clubs playing in Abuja.

“The level of the league is interesting and I must commend the teams for their good spirit, though none of the players are in my list,’’ he said.

It was reported that MFM FC had defeated Heartland FC 3-0, with goals from Stanley Okorom (8th minute), Chuka Uwaga (88th minute) and Tchato Giscard (92nd minute).

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